


Masking the Pain

by raven12



Series: A Long Time Coming [2]
Category: Kick-Ass (2010)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-02-17 18:51:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2319782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raven12/pseuds/raven12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years can be a long time. When two former friends and superheroes meet again after a long time away and experiences that tested their strength how will they relate to each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kiss with a Fist

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place two years after the events of Kick-Ass 2. References are made to the actual initial meeting after that time by Dave and Mindy that I covered in my story "Can You Ever Go Home again?" This is a continuation of the events in that story and takes place two weeks afterwards. Both are part of my series "A Long Time Coming". I hope you enjoy it.

It had been about two weeks since the warehouse. Neither Mindy nor Dave had mentioned what had happened, or what they’d said, but it palpably hung in the air between them like a living breathing thing. On the surface, though, things had seemed almost normal. Their lives had appeared to reset back to what they had been before she’d left. Dave wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. 

They had started to get back into a routine for both patrolling and training and he was just arriving at the safe house for the latter. It was good to have someone to work with, someone he trusted, after so long. Being alone in this business sucked. Still, he didn’t really know who this Mindy was. She wasn’t quite the headstrong young drill sergeant he remembered from when she first took him on…or more precisely she seemed to be only that. The personal spark between them, the camaraderie and playfulness, was nowhere to be seen. Well, it *had* been a long time since they’d been around each other and so he guessed it wasn’t fair for him to assume they’d just take up where they’d left off, first kiss notwithstanding. He still didn’t even know what she’d been up to since she left that fateful day on her bike. She hadn’t appeared too curious to find that out from him either. 

Dave sighed. Well, all things considered it could be a lot worse. It looked like they’d both just need some time to sort things out. He’d wait and see and just hope for the best.

He knew she was already there the minute he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Resetting the security he walked down the hall carefully – you never knew when Hit Girl would decide to spice up a training session with a surprise attack…some things never changed. When he came to the sparring room he stopped dead. Mindy was waiting for him in her Hit Girl uniform…well mostly. 

Arms akimbo, Mindy glared at Dave as he walked in. Her purple wig and domino mask mostly hid her features, but he could still see a dangerous gleam in her green eyes that went scarily well with the snarling curl of her lips. She wore her leather jacket, though it was unzipped more than enough to display the top of her pert breasts and the edge of the purple bra she was wearing underneath. She had apparently eschewed her leather pants, though, simply showing off the barely-there plaid miniskirt and combat boots that both showed her shapely and well-toned legs to advantage. 

Dave’s mouth went dry. “Uh, hi Mindy…” he stammered. He mentally kicked himself for the squeak he heard in his voice. Hadn’t he grown out of his fear of this girl yet, even after all he’d been through? He was Kick-Ass dammit, and nowadays that actually meant something. And what the hell was going on anyway? Was she playing some kind of mind fuck on him? As much as he’d missed her he really was getting tired of the Mindy Macready mind-games…that had been one thing he hadn’t missed.

“The name’s Hit Girl, civilian!” she barked

“What?” Dave asked in confusion, nearly stammering again. “Look Mind-, Hit Girl, I *know* who you are. And in case you’ve forgotten I’m not a civilian, I’m Kick-Ass.”

“Oh yeah?” she countered, “prove it!”

With that she flew into action and Dave barely managed to counter her initial strike. He tried to get into the zone, to be professional, to *not* have his ass handed to him in the first five seconds as would have happened easily not all that many years ago. He wasn’t some damn neophyte who didn’t know his way around the science of fighting anymore. Now he was a technician of violence too. But damn, he could *not* concentrate…she was fast, and her strike had been almost too quick to follow, and he had managed to glean at least one useful and incredibly distracting piece of information from her attack - she wasn’t wearing any damn panties!

Dave dropped and rolled backwards, hoping to gain some space, maybe even some time to collect himself, but Hit Girl just kept on pressing. Punch, jab, kick, sweep. He was barely able to counter her moves. Worst of all he could smell her arousal. He was starting to get light headed.

Finally, two and a half minutes into the fight, she landed a kick square on his chest that sent him flying and followed up by landing squarely on top of him seconds after he hit the floor. 

“Damn Mindy, what the fu-“

He was cut off when she put her hands around his throat and leaned down until her nose nearly touched his. “I told you civilian, it’s Hit Girl!”

Despite himself Dave started to feel the first stirrings of panic. Had it finally happened? Had Mindy Macready finally flipped out and gone insane like her father? Did she really not know who he was? Or did she just not care? How the hell was he going to get out of this?

He closed his eyes to try and clear his head and control his breathing. He was almost successful. “Min- Hit Girl, what’s going on?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she purred into his ear as she leaned her head down a little further. “Do you wanna fuck Hit Girl?”

“I – what?!” he sputtered as his eyes flew open to look directly into hers. 

She ground herself into him from where she was straddled on his chest and her eyes dilated a little. “I think you heard me.”

“Mindy c’mon, what the –“

Her fingers tightened around his throat. “Hit Girl!” she growled.

Suddenly everything went icy cold inside Dave. He’d had just about enough. Did he want to fuck her? Well, yeah he did actually. He’d come to realize how he felt about Mindy a long time ago, but he wasn’t going to let her rape him on the training room mats. If this was going to happen it was going to be a mutual thing based on how they felt, not some spin-off of Mindy Macready’s apparent psychosis. Where the hell was this even coming from, anyway? Two years of nothing, then a crisis out of nowhere a few weeks ago, and then after playing it cold and bitter she suddenly jumps on top of him in some kind of twisted costume-fetish roleplay? Ok, in some ways that sounded pretty cool, but he’d had enough of playing the patsy.

Dave clenched his jaw and grabbed her wrists. “Get. Your. Hands. Off. My. Throat!”

Hit Girl actually smiled. “Make me!”

Dave heaved and was almost as surprised as Hit Girl when she went flying off his body to fall sprawling onto the mats a few feet away. Apparently the strength training was working for him.

Hit Girl immediately sprang into a crouch. 

“That’s the spirit!” she shouted with an evil grin on her face.

Dave jumped up from the mat and went into his own defensive crouch, but before he could make a move one way or the other she was on him again. He blocked her first kick, but the punch that immediately followed landed squarely on his jaw, knocking his face to the side and the wind from him. 

Before he knew what was going on she had grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall with a thud. Her lips met his in a savage kiss and Dave was suddenly having a very hard time getting oxygen to his brain. Finally she pulled away enough so that she could whisper, “Don’t tell me that isn’t what you want. What was all that shit you said the other night…did you think I didn’t hear you?”

Dave shook his head. “I don’t know what the fuck you heard. You’ve acted like I didn’t say anything for two weeks and now you want to rape me in the training room?”

“Rape you?” she said with a grin. “C’mon Kick-Ass I have a feeling you’re as into this as I am.” With that she cupped his crotch where his growing erection was more than obvious. “No matter what you say I think you’re body’s giving me a pretty good indication of what it wants.”

She began stroking him over his pants as she moved in for another wet kiss. With her other hand Hit Girl grabbed one of Dave’s and placed it between her thighs where he could already feel how warm and wet she had become. She moaned as she let go and Dave’s fingers seemed to move of their own volition, stroking her nether lips with a fervent desire he could feel in his core. 

Dave was starting to lose himself. His tangled emotions and pent up desires were screaming at him to just let it ride, but there was something else, something deeper in him, that didn’t want things to go down this way with Mindy. Somehow he managed to force himself to break the kiss and push her away. They were both momentarily stunned, breathing heavily and staring at each other.

“Hit Girl – no, Mindy – you need to stop this shit and listen to me!”

Mindy’s eyes narrowed and her scowl deepened. “I keep telling you that I’m…”

“Shut the fuck up!”

That stopped her. 

“What did you say?”

“You heard me Mindy. I don’t know what trauma you’re dealing with and I want to help you…I really do…but if you think I’m just going to let you kick me around and then fuck me on the floor for no reason then you have another thing coming.”

“What’s the matter *Dave*,” she snarled his name like it was an insult, “not man enough? Maybe you need to put on the costume. I think Kick-Ass might be a real man.”

“No Mindy, I don’t need to put on a mask to be a real man and if you think that’s the only thing that defines you then you’re wrong.”

“Shut up! What the hell do you know?!” If he didn’t know better Dave would have thought there was a sob in her voice. “You told me! You said I was Hit Girl, that’s who I really am!”

Dave was surprised. What was she talking about? Then he remembered that night in his room that seemed a lifetime ago even if it had really only been a little over two years. “Mindy I only meant…”

“I don’t care what you meant! That’s what you said, and you know what? You were right. Who’s Mindy Macready? Just some stupid cunt who gets kicked around by stupid bitches and guys who think with their cocks! No one messes with Hit Girl! It doesn’t pay to be anyone else.”

Dave just stood and looked at her for a minute. Finally he started walking towards her. 

“Mindy, don’t say that. You…you’re strong no matter what you wear or what you call yourself. I don’t know what happened to you while you were gone, and by the looks of it it wasn’t anything good, but you’re here now and I want to help you, but I can’t do that unless you let me!” 

“And what the fuck does that mean Dave?! Be a good little girl and take my medicine? Maybe I should just go to jail for murder…that’s what Mindy Macready has coming! What can you even do to make things better besides fuck me so I can forget for a few minutes? Can you erase the last two years of my shitty life? Can you get rid of all the crap I had to deal with by myself?! Can you take away my criminal record? Can you give me some damn ‘normal’ life to live? No! You can’t do fuck all!”

They stared at each other again across the floor. Finally Dave broke the silence. 

“I can love you,” he said quietly.

Mindy just stared at him, apparently nonplussed by his words.

Dave walked closer and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek, “If you let me.”

Almost against her will Mindy leaned her face into his palm. “Why? Why would you do that? Why would anyone love me?”

“Because you’re Mindy, and I’m Dave…that’s how this works.” 

This time he definitely heard the sob that caught in her throat. “What the hell does that even mean you dork?” she asked, trying to hide the tears behind the beginnings of a weak smile.

“It means I realized a long time ago what I feel for you. It means that I wanted to find you so bad after you left, but I couldn’t and so I thought…I thought you wanted me to stay away. I can see now that was wrong and I’m sorry for that Mindy, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how much I wish I could have been there for you. I won’t ever make that mistake again.”

Mindy put her own hand on top of Dave’s where it still rested on her cheek. “How could you ever think I wouldn’t want you in my life?”

Dave shrugged, “Well you did just kind of take off. You never tried to contact me or even leave a sign of where you might have gone. After a while, when I finally figured out how I felt about you, I tried to see if I could find you, but you were gone…completely off the grid. I waited. I even kept tabs on Marcus in case you tried to contact him. I kept trying, but you still never bothered to try and contact me so I figured that’s what you wanted. It hurt, but I thought I was respecting your wishes or something. I thought you wanted a new life without any of this crazy bullshit in it and that I was just in the way of you moving on.”

“I’m…I’m sorry Dave. I never wanted to shut you out. I thought I was protecting *you*. Things got so shitty so fast and I just…I…”

Dave pulled her in against his body and just held her. “Shhh, it’s ok now. You’re here. You’re ok.” As if that were the cue the dam broke and Mindy erupted into a series of wracking sobs. Dave just held on for dear life…his and hers. 

Finally when she went still Mindy raised a tear-streaked face to look at him. “I must look like shit,” she said with a weary half-smile.

“You’re beautiful,” he countered as he wiped away the tears that were slipping out from underneath her mask. “You always were.”

She slowly moved her face towards his until she captured his lips in a kiss. It was a slow, steady, deep kiss utterly unlike the savage ones she had given him only moments earlier, though it was no less passionate. Her arms snaked their way around his neck as his found their way to her waist.

They kissed for several more minutes, each content to feel the other’s closeness, neither one trying to do anything else. Then Mindy pulled away and looked at him.

“I did hear you, you know,” she said quietly. “I just…everything was so muddled and suddenly you were back in my life, and I was hurt and confused. I don’t even know how I got to that warehouse or what I was thinking. I don’t even remember deciding to come back to New York. It just…it just happened. I never did say thank you, did I? I guess I owe you one.”

“Nah,” he said with a small smile, “I was just repaying the favour. I think you’ve still pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I can count.”

Mindy shook her head. “No. No, you’ve saved me in more ways than that Dave, countless times. Without you I would have spun out of control a long time ago. Without you I wouldn’t have anything keeping me grounded to the world.” She shrugged. “Hell, I don’t even know if I’m out of it yet, I feel so fucked up maybe there’s no hope for me.”

Dave was about to reply when she silenced him with a shake of her head. “No, just listen. At least with you I have a chance…at least I think I do…if you’re willing to put up with my shit.”

He stroked her cheek and smiled at her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way Min.”

She smiled softly and then leaned in for another kiss. When they broke the kiss she moved her head to his ear and planted a small kiss there before saying, “You know that I still want to fuck you, right?”

He turned to look at her, surprise on his face. “Look Mindy, I don’t know if that’s the best idea, you’re still a little vulnerable and I don’t know if we should just…”

She cut him off with a look that would have sent a quiver of fear through the most hardened criminal before it softened and she smiled again. “Look Dave I think we both know how we feel, and this has been a long damn time in coming. If you think I’m going to wait because you’re worried I’m some kind of damn delicate flower you’ve got another thing coming!”

She seemed to suddenly think of something and bit her lip. “Unless…unless you really don’t want that.”

Dave shook his head, “No! Are you kidding?! I just…it’s just, “ he sighed deeply before continuing, “we haven’t even seen each other for like two years and we weren’t even, you know, dating when we last saw each other. I just want things to be right before we rush into anything you might regret.”

“Regret? I have way too many of those already and doing this with you wouldn’t be one of them.” Her grin widened as she stepped back to give him a better view, “And I did get all dressed up for you. Now shut up and kiss me you loser.”

This kiss was hot and passionate and Dave was so lost in it that he was surprised when she did a back roll and pulled him down to the ground on top of her. Luckily his training kicked in enough to stop him from landing on her in a heap and they actually managed to maintain the kiss. Mindy grinned through the kiss, then broke it to murmur, “Take me, you big damn superhero.”

Well, who was he to deny the lady what she wanted? As they continued to kiss, Dave allowed his hands to roam over her body, first brushing against her breasts and then kneading them through her jacket and bra. Mindy moaned in response, reciprocating by bringing her own hands down to his ass and pulling him closer into her core. 

Dave proceeded to unzip her jacket and run his fingers lightly over her abs. Mindy suddenly squirmed under him and giggled as she broke the kiss. “Dave! Shit, I’m ticklish there ok? Don’t ruin the damn mood!” 

Propping himself up on his elbow Dave grinned down at her. “Ticklish? Now *that* is some good intel.”

Mindy’s eyes narrowed, “Try to use it against me and I will kill you with my little finger!” 

She waggled said appendage in front of his face as though to prove her claim.

“None of that now, or I may have to use my fingers on you!” he threatened with a smile.

“Promises, promises,” murmured Mindy as she pulled him down for another kiss.

“What the lady wants, the lady gets,” he said between kisses and proceeded to slowly stroke her pussy. He grinned at the gasp she let out as he played with her clit and she arched her body closer to him. She was still as wet as she’d been the first time he had touched her and he could feel his erection coming back in full force. So could she.

“Mmmm, there you are,” she said as she began her own stroking. Mindy’s nimble fingers proceeded to unzip his pants and begin pulling them down over his ass as he continued his ministrations on her pussy. “Oh god Dave, yessss…..” she purred as he slipped a finger inside of her and continued stroking her clit with his thumb. For a moment she just lay there letting herself bask in the feelings that were coursing through her body, then she ripped his pants and underwear further down to let his cock spring free. She grabbed it and started stroking him unhindered. Now it was Dave’s turn to stop what he was doing as he lost himself in the sensations she was provoking in him.

“God Mindy…shiit!”

Mindy smiled, “Like that?”

“You have no idea…how long…I’ve been dreaming about this…about you,” he stuttered out as her pace increased. She stopped and he looked down, worried.

“Did I say something wrong?”

She shook her head, “No, I just…I just never thought after the last few years that anything like this would happen to me. This just feels so damn good…so right. I never thought I’d feel this way, Dave. I never thought I’d find anyone, let alone someone like you.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he replied. She just shrugged and looked away. “Hey I mean it!” he said grabbing her chin and pulling her face back towards him. “Mindy, you’re special and I don’t ever want you to think otherwise.” He waited, watching her face. “Got it?” he added when she didn’t respond.

“Got it,” she mumbled.

“Now where were we?” he asked with a grin, deciding it was a good time to lighten the mood. Suddenly she smiled and before he knew what was going on she had flipped him so that she was straddling him. “I think Hit Girl was just about to fuck your brains out,” she replied as she started to rub her wet pussy against his cock.

Dave closed his eyes as he felt her moving against him, then he looked up at her face and shook his head. “No.”

That stopped her, confusion and concern ghosting across her features. “I – what?”

Dave moved his hand across her cheek in a light caress before running his fingers through her wig and gripping onto it. He quickly pulled it from her head, watching as her hair was freed, tumbling down across her face and neck in a golden cascade. “I want Mindy.”

She smiled widely. “You got it hot shot.”

Dave proceeded to reach up and unclasp her bra from the front and smiled as he saw her perky little breasts reveal themselves. Her light pink nipples were already standing at full attention. He slowly stroked his thumb over one of her nipples and cupped the other breast lightly and she murmured her approval as she slowly started to rock her hips back and forth across his member. Dave leaned up and took her nipple in his mouth, licking and biting lightly while he continued to stroke the other breast.

“Dave…mmmmm….yesss.” she moaned as he quickened his ministrations. He continued to play with her breasts while she moved slowly on him, her fingers running through his hair, stroking his scalp. Finally he pulled away and looked at her. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

Her eyes were dilated, desire obvious in her glance. “You make me feel beautiful.”

With that she moved her hand down between them, taking his cock in her hand as she raised herself up on her knees and positioned him at her opening. “I want you,” she said throatily, “I want you inside me now.”

He could feel the tip of his cock sliding between her folds when he suddenly stopped her. “Wait Min…what about…what about a condom?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “No, it’s ok, I’m covered. And anyway I don’t…I don’t want anything between us,” she said as she used her other hand to grab onto her mask and rip it from her face. Her green eyes sparkled with a glimmer of moisture. “Nothing but you and me,” she re-iterated as she moved down another fraction of an inch, taking a tiny bit more of him into her.

Dave slammed his head against the floor and groaned as she proceeded to sheath him inch by agonizing inch. 

“Holy shit Mindy, you feel so goddamn good!”

“You’re. Not so bad. Yourself.” She stuttered as she felt him begin to fill her up. Her eyes rolled back when she was finally fully seated on him and she went absolutely still. They both waited for a breathless instant and then she started to slowly rock back and forth on top of him.

“Oh…shit!” she muttered. All Dave could do was respond with a garbled grunt. She was so tight and wet it was all he could do to keep himself from exploding inside of her right away. Ok think about things not sexy: baseball, kittens, Chris D’Amico…alright maybe forget the last one or he might just lose his erection altogether...no point in overkill. 

“Dave, please look at me,” Mindy said as she increased her pace. His eyes flew open and Dave threaded his fingers with hers. Her hands tightened the clasp.

“Always,” he replied.

She leaned forward, her breasts brushing against his chest as she took his mouth into a deep kiss. She kept pumping on him, moving at a faster and faster pace as they both started to feel a coiling and tightening inside their bodies.

Suddenly Mindy broke the kiss and arched her body back, her hands flying free from his as she leaned back and placed them behind her to support her body. She was moving quickly now, the edges of her orgasm tantalising her. “God, Dave…yes, yes, ohhh…yes!”

Dave was thrusting along with her, meeting her body and groaning against the beginnings of his own orgasm. 

“Oh shit…god, Dave…now, now, now….YES!” she cried as her body shook, overtaken by the consecutive waves of her orgasm. For a blinding instant everything was gone except for her and Dave and the lightning coursing through her body. Finally she shuddered as she slowly came down and sprawled across his body, peppering his face and lips with dozens of small wet kisses.

Dave proceeded to grab her and flip her onto her back. She was still slightly frazzled, but she managed to smirk up at him as she saw the need and desire in his eyes. She opened her legs wider, wrapping them around him and using them to pull him closer. “Sorry baby,” she purred, “c’mon and fuck me…come inside me!”

Dave didn’t need any further invitation and started pumping for all he was worth. Mindy squeezed her pussy around him and Dave’s eyes rolled back into his head as he finally fell over the edge, his seed pulsing into her body like a gunshot. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Mindy groaned appreciatively as she felt him fill her up. Finally Dave felt the haze of his orgasm pass through him. He slowly leaned down, kissing her. “Mindy…my god…that was incredible.”

She stroked his hair affectionately and smiled up at him. “Yeah, it was.” 

She was silent for a minute. 

“Dave?” He looked up at her as he heard the tremor in her voice. 

“Yeah?”

“Just…thanks for being there Dave. Thanks…for being you.”

Dave smiled shyly in return, then nuzzled his face against her neck. He kissed her there, then looked back at her. “It’s all I know how to be.”


	2. Girl with a Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mindy opens up about her experiences during the two years she was away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally "Masking the Pain" was going to be a one-shot, but after finishing the prequel "Can You ever Go Home Again?" I realized that continuing the story made more sense as additional chapters to Masking instead of creating a new story altogether. Just a possible trigger warning: there is a second hand depiction of an attempted rape in the story.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the further adventures of Dave & Mindy post-Kick-Ass 2 and please leave reviews to let me know what you think.

Dave woke up with a start, slightly confused about where he was. As the familiarity of the place set in he had a brief moment of panic, fearing that maybe everything from the previous night had been a dream, until he rolled onto his side and saw the milky white shoulder and cascade of golden hair on the pillow next to him.

Warmth and desire immediately suffused him and he couldn’t help but smile at the flip-flopping ache he felt in his stomach. It had been real, not just the best dream ever. He thought back to their ‘interesting’ training session and then his smile deepened as he recalled their even more creative session in the kitchen that had soon followed almost immediately after going to get a bite to eat. Of course they had then moved things to the bedroom where it got…well, they didn’t get much sleep last night that’s for sure. It appeared that two years’ worth of pent-up desire, worry and need took a bit of working out.

He didn’t want to wake her, but Dave couldn’t stop himself from reaching out his hand to caress Mindy’s shoulder with the lightest of touches. Now that she was back in his life, and they had moved things to the next level, he couldn’t get enough of touching her. He wanted to see, smell, taste, and touch her all the time. He simply couldn’t satisfy himself.

She moaned and rolled over at his touch and Dave enjoyed just watching how the sheets drifted across her body, hiding and revealing her in equal measure. Mindy’s eyes fluttered open and Dave watched as she focused on him. A slight smile spread across her features, but he noticed that it was immediately followed by the ghost of something behind her eyes that looked like worry or concern…he hoped it wasn’t regret.

“You ok?” he asked as he ran a finger across her cheek.

Mindy nodded. “Yeah just…just processing I guess.”

Dave couldn’t help but grin. “Well, we did get up to a lot of…um, activities last night, didn’t we?”

Mindy returned his smile, though it wavered a bit. “Yeah…who knew you were such a stud?”

Dave moved in closer, his hand caressing the breast that was peeking out from the covers. “Oh I’m only getting started…”

She leaned into his kiss, but pulled back after a few seconds, her hand holding him at a slight distance as she looked into his eyes with concern.

A pang of worry immediately stabbed through Dave’s gut. “Mindy? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just…this is happening so fast.” Her fingers gently stroked him where they were touching his shoulder, but she didn’t move in any closer to him. “I know I started things last night, and god it was amazing! I just…there’s so much I need to process and we have a mission now that we have to see through. Chris is somewhere out there and I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to get distracted by…” she removed her hand from his shoulder and waved it between them, “…by this.”

Dave pulled back a bit and gazed at her for a minute, propping himself on his elbow. She bit her lip obviously worried about how he was going to react. Her fears weren’t altogether baseless.

“I’m…a little confused.”

Mindy grimaced. “I know Dave. I’m sorry. I just think we need to be smart about this.”

Dave shook his head. “Smart? What does that mean exactly? Are you saying last night was stupid?”

She frowned. “No! I mean…fuck. The past two years…” she stopped, obviously at a loss.

Dave waited for a few minutes, but when she didn’t continue his mouth was set in a grim line. “You do remember that I’m the one who said we should go slow last night, right?”

Mindy nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“And what was it?” he asked rhetorically, “’I’m not a delicate flower’? ‘We both know how we feel’? ‘We’ve waited long enough’? Was that all just bullshit? I mean god Mindy! We fucked each other all over the safe house last night after you practically begged me to and now you’re having second thoughts…? Christ!”

Dave sat up on the bed and turned away, leaning his head into his hands.

“I know!” Mindy said, reaching her hand towards his back tentatively before pulling it back. “Dave I…”

He waited to see if she would actually finish her sentence. When she didn’t he stood up. “I think I need some air.” Grabbing his pants and underwear from the floor he padded out of the bedroom without looking back. 

***

When she came out of the safe house half an hour later Mindy saw him crouching next to the wall a hundred feet or so away, his back hunched forward and his eyes covered by his hands. She stopped and just looked at him for a second, wavering between walking up to him and going back inside. Steeling herself she straightened her back and decided on the former.

He didn’t move or acknowledge that he’d heard her when she walked up to him, but she knew that he was aware of her presence.

“Dave I…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said immediately. “Just…just give me a bit, ok? I need, what’s the word? I need to process.”

Mindy grimaced at the word. “Please Dave, let me explain.”

He heaved a long sigh and pushed off his knees, sliding down along the wall until he was sitting. “This ought to be good,” he muttered.

Anger flared through her. “Look, I’m sorry okay?! I’m sorry I’m a fucked up bitch and that I can’t be your fuck-toy right now, but I have some heavy shit I need to deal with, okay?”

Dave looked up at her and she was surprised to see his eyes were red-rimmed. “My what? My fuck-toy?! Yeah…this is all about that Mindy!” He ran his fingers through his hair, grabbing on to the short ends and pulling. “I’m…I’m really fucking trying here, you know? I have no idea what you’ve been through…of course that’s primarily because you won’t fucking tell me! I try to give you space and you want to fuck my brains out, then you say things are moving too fast and we need to step back! I mean…what the fuck?! I had a fucking hard time over the past two years too, you know?! I gave up everything! My house, my name, my life. I had to distance myself from all of my friends who ended up moving on with actual lives. Fuck, I might as well have gone with you and instead I was stuck here trying to fight crime by myself! I realized I was fucking in love with you and I had to stew in that thinking you were either dead or didn’t give a shit about me. Then when you come back you’re god-damned fucking Sybil! I don’t know which Mindy I’m going to talk to next! 

“I wish you had been with me,” Mindy whispered.

Dave sighed. “Yeah well, hindsight is twenty-twenty isn’t it?”

Mindy put her back against the wall and slid down beside him. “When I left,” she began, almost talking to herself instead of to him, “I thought everything was so clear. You were safe. Chris was dead. I needed to protect Marcus. I had to get away, but I never meant to leave you - you and Marcus - in the dark. I figured I’d lay low for a few months, I’d contact you or Marcus surreptitiously and we’d figure out where to go from there.”

She stared off into the distance for a few minutes, so Dave prompted, “So what happened?”

“Nothing for a while,” she said with a shrug. “I cut my hair and dyed it black and travelled with no real destination for a few months. Just went here and there, trying to be as random as possible in case they decided they wanted to pursue me. Then I found myself in Miami. I stashed the Ducati and found a cheap place to live. I even used one of the old identities Daddy and I had set up a long time ago in case things went south: I was now Amanda Mitchell from Washington. I tried to blend in, but being normal was never my default setting and I hadn’t done anything, you know, ‘heroic’ for a long time. I was getting antsy.”

Dave smiled despite himself. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to just give it up.”

“So I figured ‘what the fuck’? I decided I didn’t want a ‘costume’, certainly not the Hit-Girl look. I also knew I didn’t need reports about some young girl kicking ass in Miami surfacing, so I just came up with a basic disguise that wouldn’t give any witnesses too much to go on: the clothing was functional, but a bit loose. Everything was black, full balaclava; no capes, no skirts, nothing too form-fitting,” she snorted a small laugh, “I mean I’m not exactly stacked, but no need to let them even think I might be a girl, right? They always assume it’s a dude anyway unless they have some reason to think otherwise. For all they knew I was just a dumb-ass high school boy with delusions of superhero-dom.”

Dave snorted at that, “Sounds familiar.”

She tentatively reached out her hand to his. When he didn’t make any move to stop her she lightly wrapped her fingers around his. “Yeah, I know, right? I guess I was inspired by someone special.”

He didn’t remove his hand, but Dave squinted his eyes shut and grimaced. “Mindy…don’t, ok?”

She heaved a sigh. “I followed the news from New York you know. I was so proud of you. You were a real hero. You still are. When I read about the police investigating you, I felt so bad. I almost came home then.”

“What kept you away?”

“Well, by that time I had already been hitting the town for a while. At first it was kinda fun. I kicked some ass, did some good. Then the mandate on vigilantes came down from the government and I almost got caught in a sting operation with SWAT officers crawling all over the place. Got shot twice in the leg.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah, same leg that Russian fuck kept hitting in the warehouse. Luckily I don’t go down easy and I managed to evade the incompetent fucks and get back to my safe house. I finally figured I better lay low for a while. I had to patch up my leg myself too. They’re always asking too many questions about gunshot wounds in the hospitals.”

“Jeez I’m sorry, Mindy.”

“Oh, it gets better!”

“Like I said even if I couldn’t get home I was going to contact you guys…it had been almost seven months since I’d left, but something held me back. I think I wanted to heal up first. I didn’t need Marcus, or you for that matter, telling me how reckless I was and that I was acting stupid. Once I could walk half-way normal again I decided to try living like a normal person again for a bit. I even got a fucking job in a grocery store!”

“Really?” Dave asked with an arched brow.

Mindy huffed. “It’s not exactly like I’ve got a resume with a ton of ‘normal’ activities you know. And I had only turned sixteen…not a lot of options if you don’t want references checked. References I didn’t have anyway.”

Dave just nodded. “I guess…I guess it would be pretty tough for you to go straight…even if you wanted to. I don’t think Marcus, or I, ever thought about that part of it. Of course you’re still young, it’s not like they’d expect you to have some kind of professional CV or anything.”

“Are you telling this story or am I?”

“Sorry.”

“So there I am swiping groceries through a scanner and trying not to punch the assholes in the face when they go through their purses for the last bit of fucking change they have to pay a ninety dollar bill and wondering if it wouldn’t be better to just high tail it back to New York and risk jail when I run into him.”

“Him? Who him?”

“Damian,” she almost whispered.

“Who’s, uh, who’s Damian?” asked Dave, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

“He was…I thought he was my friend. I thought maybe he was more.”

“Oh.”

“He worked at the store too. Stock-boy. Really cute, dark hair, seemed like a bit of a dork, but he was fit too. He kind of…well he kind of reminded me of you and I just wanted to have something that felt familiar again. I had been keeping to myself for so long by then I barely even remembered how to talk to people. So we started chatting and that led to hanging out after work. One thing led to another and I actually went on a few dates with him.”

Dave gritted his teeth and nodded. “I still don’t understand why you couldn’t have sent a postcard. Anything. Just a line saying ‘I’m still fucking alive, don’t wait up’.”

Mindy squeezed his fingers. “I know and I don’t even know why I didn’t. I was just…I dunno, I was in a really weird place. I had no idea you might feel about me the way…the way you do. I had kissed you on a whim and…”

Dave took back his hand and moved to stand up. “Okay…it’s okay Mindy I understand. I don’t think I want to hear anymore right now, okay? I just…fuck…why did you let me fuck you Mindy? I thought…oh Christ!”

As Dave started to walk away Mindy jumped up and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go even when he tried to pull away.

“No! I didn’t mean that the kiss didn’t mean anything! Dave I… shit! I love you!”

He stopped at that and turned to look at her. She could see the scepticism in his eyes. “Fuck Dave, I think I’ve loved you, in one way or another, since I was eleven and I found you sprawled on the floor at Rasul’s looking like the biggest dork in the world. I was so excited! A real boy! Someone almost my own age who could understand me. Someone who was an actual hero!” She couldn’t help but grin. “Or at least who was trying to be one. I couldn’t stop smiling at you. I wanted you to be my friend so badly...even if you were a total pussy. And when I found out how cute you were, well…let’s just say I was deeply smitten.”

Dave looked at her, disbelief warring with hope on his face.

“I meant that I never figured you’d feel the same way about me, but I kissed you anyway. I wasn’t about to let what might be my last chance pass me by. I mean why would I think you might feel that way about me? You’d always treated me like a scary little sister and anyway you weren’t exactly into jailbait.” She looked away with a grimace before adding, “And you always seemed to have something else to keep you distracted.” 

“Katie doesn’t hold a candle to you Mindy. When I look back, I realize that she never did. And Miranda?” he huffed. “Let’s just say that was less than nothing. I was stupid and full of raging hormones.”

She nodded, “Yeah well I can now say that I know the feeling.”

She pulled on his hand and dragged him back to the wall where she proceeded to sit back down on the ground. He followed and Mindy was please to notice that he didn’t try to remove his hand from hers.

“So…Damian liked action movies and comics. He didn’t seem to have a lot of other friends, but he was funny. He didn’t even think I was psycho for swearing like a sailor, and he wasn’t afraid of me no matter what I said or did. I guess that should have tipped me off.”

“What d’you mean?”

Mindy shrugged. “Even when I’m trying I’m not exactly normal Dave. If someone doesn’t think I’m at least a little weird then they’re probably not too normal either.”

“I always got along with you.”

“Yeah, but you were also at least a bit afraid of me. Damian? He just thought it was funny.”

Dave shrugged. “Well, I have no interest in defending the guy, who I am sure is a total dick-hole let me tell you, but maybe he just thought you were putting up a front.”

“Well, turned out that wasn’t the case at all. Long story short he liked getting into trouble…got a kick from doing minor vandalism and shit like that, but he also started talking about vigilantes and how cool they were. Even showed me a few of his ‘moves’ and I gotta say he had some talent. I figured I could maybe channel his ‘energy’ into something a bit more productive than tagging buildings and trashing abandoned store fronts. When I nudged him about maybe trying to do some good and still have fun he jumped at the chance. I started thinking ‘maybe I could have a partner again’, ‘maybe with someone to watch my back it could work out and I don’t have to feel so alone.’”

Dave squeezed her hand hard and looked away. She could see the tension in his jaw.

“I’m sorry Dave. I know. I know you had to do it all alone here. I know that *you’re* my partner. Fuck! I should have just dropped everything and come home after the SWAT thing, but I was trying to prove that I could do it on my own. That I wasn’t weak. I wanted to come back triumphant…not with my tail between my legs. And by then…”

She took a big shuddering breath before rushing on. “By then we were sleeping together and I thought…I thought he loved me.”

Dave just nodded. He was still looking away, but he was also still holding her hand.

“So we started small. I encouraged him with the vigilante stuff and pretended like I didn’t know too much about it, but I made sure we didn’t get in over our heads. A nudge here, an idea there and it wasn’t too hard to direct what he decided to do, or how. Teenage boys aren’t really that hard to control…especially when you’re sleeping with them.”

Dave couldn’t help but let out a bark that sounded halfway between a laugh and a sob. “I’ll bet!”

Mindy squeezed his hand. “Sorry, I just…”

Dave shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize, Mindy. You don’t owe me explanations for your life. I know it was tough. God, if anyone knows it’s me, ok? I have no right to control what you do or to have expectations about who you see or what you did when you were alone. Fuck…I have not exactly been a role model on that front. It’s just…kind of hard to hear.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“So we start getting better…or he does and I start working a little closer to my real level of performance. He wanted to ‘go public’ do the whole Kick-Ass thing and become a Youtube star and have a flashy costume. I told him that with every police force in the country and even the government looking to stamp out any vigilantism they saw it wasn’t safe. 

He started getting moody and sometimes he’d fly off the handle over nothing, just because he didn’t get his way in something, but hey, I can be a bit of a raging bitch sometimes too, so I figured what the fuck, who am I to throw stones? I could tell he was holding something back every time we argued though – which started happening a lot – but I figured he just needed to get used to the life and I kept bringing up the very real possibility of a long prison term when he kept pushing about going ‘big time’.

For a while that worked. Then we got caught in the middle of some shit with those fucking Russian assholes. We thought it was a small break and enter we were stopping, but it turned out they were Bratva enforcers going to put the screws to one of their moles with the local cops who was getting cold feet. We barely got out alive and I had to kill four of them in some pretty creative ways before I could drag Damian out of there.

Then we got home and he’s looking at me really weird. ‘You’re Hit-Girl’ he says. I’m like ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’, but he wasn’t buying it. He said: ‘I knew there was *something* about you. You always knew just a little too much. I definitely knew you weren’t what you were pretending to be, but you’re cute, so I let it slide.’ Then he says: ‘We’re going to go big time now and you’re going to teach me or I’m going to the cops’.”

“He did what?!”

“Yeah, I was totally fucking floored. I figured it was the adrenaline, and he’d got a grazing wound on his arm so he was kinda scared. I couldn’t believe he meant it. So I told him he didn’t know what he was talking about and he should calm the fuck down. That’s when he slapped me and told me to stop lying to him.”

“Shit…bad move on his part.”

Mindy shrugged. “You’ll be surprised actually. I didn’t do anything. I mean I almost reeled off and smashed his face in, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t hurt him. I thought I loved him and somehow I just couldn’t hurt him. So I just stared him down and told him that he got one free shot and after that all bets were off. He just laughed.”

“Fuck, Mindy,” Dave growled, “You should have just killed the little shit then and there.” 

He was surprised when a short sob escaped her lips. She turned it into a jittery laugh that almost scared him. “Oh no…I waited for that!”

Dave turned to look at her. “Mindy, it’s okay you don’t have to…”

“No, I want to. I want you to know what you’re getting into here. I don’t want to have any more secrets from you, okay?”

Dave just nodded.

Mindy took a deep breath. “So I still managed to calm him down that night. I even admitted that I had a past and more experience than I had let on at first, but no way was I telling this guy I was Hit-Girl. For a few weeks everything calmed down. We were laying low to keep the cops and the Russian mafia off our backs, but I didn’t know that Damian was doing some extracurricular activities of his own on the side.

Finally one night he starts getting all amorous and things start getting serious. He’d been in a good mood and I thought things were getting better…nothing bad had happened since the ‘episode’ and he hadn’t brought up the Hit-Girl thing at all. Then just when we get to the bed he reaches underneath and pulls my fucking wig and mask out from where he’d stashed them.”

Mindy sighed. “I guess I didn’t hide them as well as I thought and he’d been spending every free moment I wasn’t home tearing the place up looking for ‘evidence’. Well, he found it.”

“What did you do?”

“I froze. He held them in front of my face with this fucking weird grin on his face and he said, ‘I always wanted to fuck a real superhero. Put these on.’ By then I came back to myself and told him I wasn’t in the mood anymore. I said if he loved me he wouldn’t go looking for secrets in my own place, that things had to happen in their own time. He told me I was a lying cunt and he hadn’t ever said anything about love.

He threw the wig and mask at my face and held my arms, then he wedged his legs on top of mine. He said…he said,” Mindy shuddered a bit. “He said: ‘If Hit-Girl can’t come out to play then I’m going to have some fun with Amanda whether she likes it or not.’”

“Shit,” muttered Dave.

“I actually begged him to stop, can you believe it? I wasn’t actually scared or anything, but I think I was in shock. I told him I was sorry I hadn’t been honest, but that it had been for the best for both of us…that I was trying to start a new life. He wouldn’t even listen. He just got this look on his face that almost did scare me and he said: ‘I thought having your cherry had been sweet, but this’ll taste even sweeter now that I know who you really are and *I’m* gonna be the one who owned you.’ Then he started trying to rip my clothes off while he was holding me down. He was a pretty strong guy, but he was still an amateur and I…” she stopped and gulped down a sob. “I just…I just switched onto autopilot or something. I didn’t mean…didn’t mean to…” Mindy broke into wracking sobs and covered her face with her hands. 

Dave immediately pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair. “Shhh, c’mon Mindy, it’s okay. Whatever happened that fucking rapist asshole deserved it!”

“I thought he loved me!” she wailed into his shoulder. “I thought *I* loved him and I…and I…I fucking killed him! With my…with my fucking bare hands! Dave, I fucking beat him to a pulp! You couldn’t…you couldn’t even see what his face looked like when I was done!”

Mindy sobbed into Dave’s shoulder for some time, her arms gripped him as if he were the only thing holding her to reality. Dave had no idea what he should say so he just held on, hoping that his strong grasp told her everything she needed to know about how he felt.

“Oh god,” she moaned as her crying started to subside. “If he had just been some damn jock trying to roofie me I wouldn’t even give a shit. Fucking rapists deserve what they get. But he…he was my friend…my boyfriend! Shit. I’m so fucked up I can’t even find someone to be with who isn’t a total psycho.” After she said it she stiffened as though she realized what she’d said. “Oh fuck, Dave I didn’t…”

Dave shook his head and kissed the top of her head. “Shhh, don’t worry about it. Normal’s overrated anyway.” 

Her laugh started as a choking sob, but became more genuine as she seemed to become gripped by it. Pretty soon she could barely breathe through the hysterical giggles that were ripping through her body. “Oh shit…” she gasped, “…I am so…so fucked up!”

He kept holding onto her until her body stopped shaking and she could take a few deep breaths. He moved one of his hands to her chin and pulled her face up to look at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…I didn’t know it was so bad. Shit, I didn’t mean to push you, I’m sorry.”

Mindy shook her head. “You didn’t know. Fuck, I’m the one that jumped on you last night. I just needed you so bad. Two weeks of being near you every day. Two weeks knowing how you felt and pretending I didn’t give a fuck. I just couldn’t do it anymore. And then when you didn’t just let me fuck you as Hit-Girl. Fuck, I knew already, but Dave then I *really* knew that you cared about me…about the fucked up mess behind the mask. 

I’m sorry, I know I took advantage of you, but I needed to feel someone close. I needed to feel like I could trust someone with myself. I needed to believe…to let go for a while and be lost in something that wasn’t my fucked up problems.” She sighed heavily and looked up at him. “Have I totally fucking scared you off yet?”

Dave couldn’t help but laugh. “Mindy, if I was scared off easily you wouldn’t have seen me after Rasul’s. For two years I’ve been wishing I could tell you how I feel. I realized how I felt about you after it was too late for me to do anything about it. I thought I’d lost you forever and I’ve had a lot of time to think about what that meant. Now that you’re here, now that we have a chance to actually be with each other, I’m not going to pretend that I feel any differently. Do you think I’m going to let the fact that some asshole got what he deserved for trying to rape you push me away?”

He stroked her face lightly. “I’ll give you whatever space you need, but I’ll always be here waiting. Just…be honest with me, okay?”

Sniffing, Mindy nodded. Dave stood up and pulled her with him. 

“C’mon let’s go inside and get some hot chocolate. It’s getting a bit nippy out here.”

Mindy pulled Dave into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. He just breathed her in for a minute before he lifted her up and carried her back into the safe house.

“Don’t worry Mindy,” he whispered into her ear. “We’ll figure it out. We can take all the time we need.”


	3. Mirror Mirror

“So…have you thought about going to see Marcus?” asked Dave a week after Mindy dropped the bombshell about what had happened to her since she’d left.

Mindy was in the middle of a round with the heavy bag, but stopped mid-punch when Dave asked. “No,” she finally said after waiting a minute. “I mean…I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

“Well, I kind of told him about how I saw you at the warehouse a few weeks back and I imagine he’s wondering why I haven’t called him with any updates yet. He and I don’t always see eye-to-eye, but I’d feel bad about lying to him. I don’t think I could pretend that I didn’t know where you were. I owe him that much. Besides if *he* knew where you were and didn’t tell me I’d fucking hunt him down and beat it out of him.”

Mindy raised her eyebrow and turned to look at Dave with a smirk. “You worried he’s going to come after you with his service revolver if he finds out?”

Dave shrugged. “The thought had crossed my mind, but I just don’t think it’s fair to keep him in the dark. You don’t have to tell him…anything. Just let him know you’re here.”

“I think maybe he’s better off thinking I’m still somewhere across the country…or dead.”

“Mindy, none of us are better off thinking that. Please stop saying those things.”

Mindy started punching the bag again then switched to kicks. Finally she stopped and when she saw that Dave hadn’t moved she sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

“That’s all I’m asking. Thanks.”

“Sheesh, since when did you become so chummy with Marcus?”

“I’m not. I just, well I kinda got to know him while you were gone. We sort of bonded over missing you…though he saw things a lot differently from me.”

She snorted. “Yeah I’ll bet. Let me guess: he was having wet dreams about me going all Princess Primrose and being a normal little girl, right?”

Dave smiled. “Yeah, pretty much. We both wondered why we hadn’t heard anything about some new super-chick kicking ass so he figured you must have gone straight. We didn’t like to think about…” Dave huffed, “…about other possibilities.”

Mindy threw down her sparring gloves and picked up her towel as she walked over to Dave. She put her hand on his chest and kept it there for a minute. “Hey, it’s okay I know it was tough for you, but I’m back now.” They hadn’t had sex, or even kissed, since they had talked, but Mindy was more physically affectionate with Dave than she ever had been before. They were just little things like grasping his fingers or giving him a hug, but she made it clear she wanted to be around him even if she didn’t feel ready to continue on the path they had started a few days earlier.

She smiled at him crookedly. “Pretty soon you might be regretting your change in status in that regard you know. I’m not always sunshine and roses like I have been lately.”

Dave couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll try and prepare myself for Dark Mindy.”

She let her hand drift down his chest slowly as her eyes unfocused. There was a wistful look on her face, but she soon replaced it with a grimace. “I gotta shower. You be ready for patrol in twenty?”

“You got it, chief.”

***

Of course Mindy went in first.

Dave had finally tracked down the location of the crack den about a week or so prior to Mindy’s spectacular attack on the Bratva’s gun-running warehouse but everything that followed that little adventure had caused it to kind of drop off his radar.

He had mentioned it in passing a few nights before and Mindy had jumped on it. She was getting tired of random patrols and was hoping for some action and a crack den would give her the perfect opportunity. It was also a perfect place for them to test out their new partnership. They were both confident in their abilities…no problem there at all, but they hadn’t worked together as a team in a while and they needed to get used to each other again in a more professional capacity.

After they suited up Dave had taken her to the location and started going into details on how he’d tracked it down, who was running the lab, and how many men he had seen entering and leaving during his earlier reconnaissance when Mindy just patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s nice,” she said sweetly and then proceeded to rappel down the side of the building and storm into the crack den after taking out the lone guard at the door with extreme prejudice. 

“Fuck,” muttered Dave as he shook his head and hustled to keep up.

Normally Mindy was a little less impulsive and a little more likely to work out a plan, but he had noticed how antsy she’d been lately, especially when they were out on patrol. He was going to have to talk to her about it. He wasn’t looking forward to that.

When he burst into the lab behind her Dave saw that she had already taken out three guards with her Glock and was proceeding to beat the shit out someone in a lab coat with a ton of piercings. Dave dived in and took out a thug who thought he was going to sneak up on the diminutive vigilante.

“Eyes open, Hit-Girl!” he chided.

She rolled her eyes at him as she dropped the technician she had been working over. “Fuck, I knew he was there – and that you had my back, Kick-Ass – give it a rest!” 

He was about to warn her about the thug with a knife that was coming up behind her when she dropped him with a spinning back-kick without even looking. She grinned and shrugged at him before turning to face a new foe.

Dave just shook his head and laid out two more opponents with his batons. He kept glancing over his shoulder at Hit-Girl only to turn back around and suddenly see a new opponent looming over him swinging an axe. He barely had time to drop backwards away from the swing, but a gunshot rang out as he did so and a red dot appeared in the centre of the thug’s forehead before he dropped to the floor.

Looking back quickly Dave saw Mindy grinning at him, her Glock still trained on the thug. “Eyes open, Kick-Ass!” she mimicked.

Dave grimaced, but still nodded his thanks. He had to admit she was pretty amazing…even when she was going off book. 

The rest of the mop-up didn’t give either of them much of a workout, but they obviously still had some work to do to find their groove as partners again. It was nice being able to save each other, but Dave would have been more comfortable if things weren’t quite so off-the-cuff. They were starting to find their way though, and so it hadn’t taken them long to shut everything down and grab the cash on hand before vacating the premises. When they made it back to the adjacent roof Mindy was grinning from ear to ear.

“Shit that felt good!”

“I know, right?” agreed Dave. “Nothing quite like taking out a bunch of asshole drug dealers with a nice payday to get the juices flowing.”

Mindy turned to look at Dave with a strange glint in her eye. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

She slowly sauntered up to him and ran her finger down his uniform. “As a matter of fact,” she nearly purred, “my juices are *really* starting to flow.”

Before Dave could reply she gripped his uniform and pulled him down, giving him the wettest, dirtiest kiss he’d ever received. She pulled away with a groan and winked at him. “Is it just me, or is it hot up here?”

She stepped back as she said this, her fingers toying with the zipper of her jacket and playfully pulling it down a few inches.

“Mindy, what…?”

She cocked her head to the side and grinned. “Oh c’mon Kick-Ass, do I have to draw you a picture? Hit-Girl’s in the mood for a little playtime.”

Dave grimaced. “Mindy, what’s going on? You made it pretty clear that we needed to take things slower please don’t start…”

“Fuck Mindy!” she exclaimed. “Hit-Girl has needs too.” 

She walked up to him and started stroking him through his uniform. “It’s been a week since I’ve felt you inside me and god I need to feel you again before I burst! C’mon Kick-Ass don’t you want to stick your cock inside me and pound my sweet pussy until I scream?” She closed her eyes as the image filled her mind. “Oh fuck! I’m getting so wet just thinking about it…mmmmmm.”

She wrapped one arm around his neck and let the other hand wander between her legs where she started stroking herself in anticipation.

“Fuck,” cursed Dave, closing his eyes and trying to take a deep breath.

“That’s the general idea,” returned Mindy with an evil grin.

Dave opened his eyes and gripped Mindy’s arms. “Mindy, please! What the fuck is going on? I’m really starting to get confused here and I’m having a hard time knowing what to do.”

“Don’t worry about Mindy,” whispered Hit-Girl as she leaned forward and ran her tongue over Dave’s lips. “She’s not at home right now.”

“Fuck!” said Dave as he pushed Hit-Girl away from him. “Mindy, c’mon you’re starting to scare me. Please…just talk to me.”

There was an edge of panic to Dave’s voice and all of the passion that had started to bubble inside of him at Mindy’s words and actions fled to be replaced by a chill in his veins.

“Are you a little fucking pussy, Kick-Ass? Do I need to find a real man out there somewhere now?”

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck…” muttered Dave to himself before he turned to look at her again. “Mindy for god’s sake please! Mindy come back and talk to me, okay?”

Hit-Girl’s eyes narrowed. “If you know what’s good for you then…”

“Mindy,” Dave said, “Mindy I love you…I need to talk to you, okay? It’s alright, I just want to talk.”

Hit-Girl stopped, a confused look passing over her face. “Dave…?” She said after a minute.

Dave nodded, trying to smile. “It’s okay Mindy come back to me, alright? Let’s just talk.”

Mindy looked around at the rooftop. “Dave? Where…where are we? How did…when did we leave the crack den?” Now Mindy was starting to sound panicked.

“Just a few minutes ago,” said Dave, trying to keep his voice at a soothing level. “Come here.”

Mindy was starting to shake, but she managed to walk towards Dave who immediately pulled her into a hug. “I got you,” he said. “It’s okay, Mindy.”

Mindy’s breathing was ragged. “What did…what did I say? What did I do?”

“It’s okay Mindy,” he repeated. “Just hold onto me.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he held her and wondered what the fuck he was going to do. 

***

“Look Dave I’m fine okay?”

They were back at the safe house and Dave stood watching Mindy with his arms crossed as she stopped taking off her boots and glared at him.

“Are you kidding? Mindy that was…shit to say that was weird is an understatement. You didn’t even know where you were for a few minutes. And you were definitely acting…strange. You were shaking like a leaf by the end there. Tell me again why I shouldn’t worry about it?”

Mindy sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I was shaking because I was coming off an adrenaline high, okay? And sometimes I just get into the moment and it can be, I dunno, confusing I guess.”

Dave shook his head. “That was beyond confusing Mindy. You said some things that were, well, concerning.”

She shot him a look. “Oh yeah, like what?”

“Well the most concerning was ‘Mindy’s not at home’! I mean what the fuck?! Are you gonna tell me that was nothing?”

“Dave, you know I draw a line between Mindy and Hit-Girl…we both have to do that kind of thing. It’s called compartmentalization. Sometimes I guess I just get into character and let things ride a bit more.”

“Fuck Mindy, that’s just bullshit. When Hit-Girl starts saying things that are the direct opposite of what Mindy told me a few days prior then we’ve gone a whole blinding leap beyond compartmentalization, okay?!”

“What did…what did she say?”

Dave bit back the concern he felt at hearing Mindy refer to Hit-Girl as ‘she’ and sighed. “Let’s just say things could have gotten pretty steamy up there.”

Mindy shrugged, but she looked away from Dave when she did it. “Well, so I think you’re hot and I’m a little conflicted about asking you to slow down. Is that so hard to believe?”

Dave huffed. “Mindy, you were very clear about what you needed when we made our decision about how fast things should be going between us and I know when you’re being serious. I’m starting to worry…”

She looked back at him with concern when he paused. “Worry about what?”

“Worry that what we did that night in the safe house wasn’t even you. Wasn’t what you wanted at all.”

Mindy got a pained look in her eyes. “Dave, don’t even think that okay? Shit, that was all me and I don’t want you *ever* thinking that I don’t feel that way about you, okay?”

He shrugged. “Fine, but that still doesn’t mean that you zoning out on the rooftop tonight isn’t a cause for concern. Even if you’re just acting out on unconscious desires or something you’re doing it when you’re not even fully aware of what you’re doing. What if…other…desires start manifesting that way?”

“Like what?”

“You know what, Mindy. We’re both pretty effective killing machines when we want to be – you especially. If we don’t keep a handle on it then things can get really bad really fast.”

Mindy stood up and threw her boot to the floor. “I’ve got a handle on it, okay? I’m sorry that me getting a little horny freaks you out…I’ll try to stop acting on it in the future.”

“Fuck Mindy, that’s not the problem at all and you know it. Stop evading the issue!”

“Dave? I know I have issues. I know I have some shit to work through. That’s all it is, okay? Sometimes I just get into my role because Hit-Girl makes me feel safe. She makes me feel capable and protected. It’s *not* anything more than that, alright?”

Dave returned her stare, but he knew when Mindy Macready wasn’t going to budge. Finally he just nodded. “Fine; but the minute this starts happening again we’re going to have to start figuring some things out. I need to know I can count on you out there.”

“You can - always!” Mindy exclaimed.

“And I worry about you.”

Mindy gave him a lop-sided grin she hoped was convincing and patted his cheek. “Aww, that’s sweet snookums, but I’ve got it covered, okay?”

Dave watched her walk to the kitchen and sighed. He really hoped he wasn’t making a huge mistake here.


	4. Walking a Fine Line

Mindy wiped away the condensation from the mirror and looked at herself. Green eyes stared back at her and water still glistened on her skin from the shower. She took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re okay. You can do this.”

There was a knock at the door. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right out.”

She opened the door to see Dave’s concerned face staring back at her.

“You sure everything’s okay? You were in there for a long time.”

Mindy hitched up the towel that was wrapped around her body and scowled. “Dave, I’m fine, okay? I just wanted a nice hot shower to relax a bit, jeez, what are you my mother?”

“No I’m just, you know, worried about you.”

“Fuck Dave, give it a rest, okay? I’m fine. I’m me. I really want you to stop babying me and walking on eggshells all the time. Are you really going to tell me I can’t take showers now? Things might get a bit repulsive around here you know.”

“No I’m not I just…fine. I’m just worried, especially since you don’t seem willing to talk to me – or anyone – about this.”

She gave him a look. “Right. And who exactly am I supposed to talk to? I’m a wanted killer and runaway vigilante, should I just make an appointment with a shrink downtown?”

Dave sighed. “No. Shit! That’s part of the problem Mindy. I don’t know what the fuck to do about this. I’m worried and I have no damn clue what to do!”

Mindy put her hand on Dave’s chest. “Then stop worrying. Stop trying to fix me, okay? I just need some time, some distance from the past two years, and I need to find fucking Chris D’Amico and put a pole-axe through his eye. Then everything’ll be fine.”

“What about Marcus?”

“Marcus?” she asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, maybe you should, you know, talk to *him*. Maybe he can help.”

Mindy snorted. “Are you even listening to yourself? The second Marcus hears anything about this he’s going to point his finger and tell me I have to give up being Hit-Girl. He’s going to crow about being right, and he’s going to try and change who I am. Like he always does.”

Mindy heaved a heavy sigh and looked into Dave’s eyes. “Dave, there’s only ever been two people in my life who understood me. One of them was Daddy and now he’s gone. He was violently taken from me in front of my eyes. He showed me what the world really was. He made me strong. He gave me purpose. He gave me the gift of showing me who I could be in the face of all of that.”

Dave grimaced, but didn’t respond.

Mindy’s fingers curled more tightly where they rested on his chest. “The other one is you. You’re the only other person who ever accepted me for who I was. Who not only accepted me, but…but *loved* me for it. Maybe Marcus thinks he loves me…maybe he really does, but his kind of love is the love that wants to change you, wants to shape you into a ‘better’ image. I need someone who’s going to support me, not someone who’s going to tear me down.”

Dave closed his eyes and sighed. “Mindy. I’m just scared. I’m so worried that I’m going to lose you…and you acting like this is no big deal isn’t helping. I need you to take this seriously. I can’t help you when you won’t let me.”

“Dave, I’m doing fine. I haven’t had an episode in what, three days? It’s not a thing, alright?”

“Yeah, we also haven’t been out on the street since then. What happens when you put the mask back on? Maybe you do need some time, some space, but I think you need it from Hit-Girl.”

Mindy’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Mindy…”

“No! *You* are not going to say that. You aren’t going to try and take it away from me…not *you*, Dave. Please not you.”

Dave looked at her sadly. “Mindy, please stop acting like me trying to help you is me betraying you.”

“Then don’t betray me!”

“You’re more than Hit-Girl, Mindy!”

“Maybe I am, but I am also less without her. Don’t you understand that? Mindy needs Hit-Girl.”

“And Hit-Girl needs Mindy…and so do I.”

Mindy gave him a lop-sided smile. “And I need you.” 

She leaned in and gave him a kiss, the first one they’d shared since the rooftop. It was passionate, but much more chaste than the one he had been given by ‘Hit-Girl’. After a moment she pulled away. “Just stick with me on this. As long as I have you here I know I’ll be okay.”

Dave leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. “You’d better be. You don’t want to see me when I’m mad.”

Mindy smiled. “Actually I’d kind of like that, tiger. It sort of turns me on.”

Dave pulled back and looked at her closely. “Mindy…?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fuck…it’s me, okay? Shit do you think I can’t be a perv who gets off on you or something Lizewski?”

“Sorry,” he said with a grimace. “I’m just a bit on edge these days.”

She shook her head. “Just suit up okay? We’re going out. I’ve been stewing in this place long enough and we need to start gathering intel on Chris. I think I know where we should start.”

***

Dave kept stealing glances at her as they ran and jumped their way across the rooftops of the city. He couldn’t help it. Seeing her put on the mask again had caused his stomach to clench in ways he hadn’t felt since he was a novice coming face to face with his first real criminals intent on killing him.

She turned and gave him a wry look as they stopped near a fire escape that descended to the street. “You can stop staring at me you know. I haven’t gone batshit insane and the mask has been on for at least a half hour now. I need you to have your head in the game here Kick-Ass otherwise things really will get bad.”

He shook his head. “I know, sorry. I’m okay.”

“So am I,” she said with a pointed look. “Now…are you ready to do this?”

He nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Mindy grabbed onto the fire escape and then stopped to look at him. “This is the easy part.” She gave him a wide grin. “It’ll be just like Rasul’s except this time you won’t be shitting yourself.”

“Gee thanks. You know I think I was pretty brave even walking into that place back then.”

Hit-Girl’s smile became more genuine. “You were. Now let’s go kick some ass!” with that she slid down the fire escape to the balcony below, Dave merely a step behind.

They scanned the apartment on the other side of the window. The main room was a mess. A table was littered with drug paraphernalia, porn mags, and empty junk food containers. Two stoned-out guys with tattoos were sitting on a couch playing video games, while another larger guy stood at a make-shift bar mixing himself some unholy concoction out of nearly every bottle in front of him. Hit-Girl shook her head. “Sometimes it’s too easy, you know?”

Without another word she moved to the other end of the balcony and looked into the next window. A small bathroom lit only sparsely by light from the main room presented itself and she smiled as she tested the window and found it unlocked. “Like I said…too easy.”

She stepped inside without a sound and pulled out her blades. Dave was only a step behind her, his batons ready once they reached the partially open door. 

“I’ll take out the guys on the couch, you take the drinker…remember we need one of them alive.”

Kick-Ass looked at her like she’d grown another head. “*You’re* telling *me* that? Hmmph! That’s rich.”

“Just stick to the plan, douche.”

With that she stormed into the room, whirling her blades as she jumped towards the couch. “Alright cocksuckers, time to pay the piper!”

While the two on the couch screamed like little girls Dave jumped at their friend with the drink who was still gaping at the slaughter taking place in front of him. He shook his head. *Of course* he was the one who was taking down his target alive. Before the cretin even knew what was happening his front teeth were fractured by Dave’s blow and he slumped to the floor. 

“Shit. That really was easy wasn’t it?”

Hit-Girl grinned at him from the bloodstained couch, but before she could respond three more men ran in from the room on the other side of the wall, two with handguns drawn and another sporting a semi-automatic pistol.

“What the fuck?!”

“Oh sorry boys, were we interrupting something?” said Hit-Girl with a malicious grin, blood flicking off of her blades as she spun them in a quick arc.

“Fuck! Waste ‘em!”

The one with the semi-automatic managed to squeeze off a few rounds, but all of the bullets sprayed across the ceiling as he fell when his knee was sliced off by Hit-Girl. “Ah…Shit! Fuck!”

Dave easily dropped one of his friends, twisting the arm with the gun until it made a nasty popping sound and he fell to the floor in a screaming, writhing heap. He immediately swung the pistol he had snatched until it was directly against the temple of the last remaining gunman. “I think you should drop it unless…”

Dave’s eyes went wide as Hit-Girl plunged one of her blades into the man’s chest and he sunk to the floor with a sigh.

“Hit-Girl! What the fuck?!”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Give me a break Kick-Ass. We have at least two alive anyway, which is already more than we need. It’s not like another fucking thug cluttering up the place is gonna do us any good.”

Dave grimaced, but suppressed his retort. No need to argue in front of the enemy. He grabbed the thug still writhing on the floor and cradling his arm by the throat and heaved him over to the wall. His head made a pleasant thumping sound as he was smashed into the wall and the breath was knocked out of him.

“You heard her, meatbag! We’re already working with a surplus here. You better start chatting pretty damn quick before we decide you’re not worth the breath.”

The thug looked at Dave with fear, but when he turned his eyes to Hit-Girl they went wide with recognition followed by terror. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…what d’you wanna know, man?!”

Hit-Girl sauntered up to him, glaring up into his face with a sneer. “Word on the street is that Ralph D’Amico is having problems. In-house problems.”

The thug looked at her and shrugged. “What do I know about D’Amico…?”

Before he could finish his sentence she kneed him in the crotch and grabbed his chin. “Do I look stupid to you fuck-face? I may have been out of it, but I still remember you.”

Dave looked questioningly at his partner, but refrained from saying anything. She simply kept glaring at the thug.

“Why us? We’re just fucking street dealers man, we don’t know nothing!”

“You sure as hell better hope you know something about it or you really will be nothing more than another stain on the wall.”

Dave tightened his grip on the man’s throat before relaxing it slightly. “So….are you going to be a gentleman and answer the lady’s questions or do we need to see if someone else not already smearing the carpet is going to be more helpful?”

“Fuck, “D’amico will…”

“Just what the fuck do you think *I’m* going to do shit-stain?!” Snarled Hit-Girl in a low, but menacing voice.

The man whimpered but shook his head violently. 

Hit-Girl swung her blade and impaled the man through his skull. Dave let go, jumping back at the unexpected move, and watched wide-eyed as the thug stared blindly into the distance, hanging on the wall like a poorly trussed hunting trophy.

“Hit-Girl, fuck! A little warning next time!”

She just grinned and turned to where the drinker was now rolling around on the carpet, blood pouring from his gap-toothed mouth. She swung her remaining blade until it was pointed at his eyes. “You planning on being a bit more cooperative fuck-face?”

The thug looked at her and groaned, urine puddling underneath him.

Hit-Girl’s grin became even more feral. “That’s a good start.”

***

Dave threw his mask onto the couch as they walked into the safe house. 

“So how did you know they’d be able to give us intel on the D’Amico in-fighting? And what did you mean that you remembered that guy?”

“Word on the street is that D’Amico’s been having trouble with some of his people ever since the Motherfucker incident. The Bratva fiasco confirmed that his hold is loosening and I managed to track one of those drug dealing dirt bags to the warehouse the Russians were using before I got caught. At first I thought they were just some small-time local thugs looking to hook up with a bigger organization, but then I heard them mention D’Amico and a ‘mutual friend’ on the inside and ‘new opportunities’. Luckily he wasn’t there when you went ape-shit on the Russians.”

Dave nodded. “So we figure that Chris is pissed off at his uncle for keeping him on a leash and taking over the business and he’s the mole in the organization trying to undermine his uncle’s position so he can take over in the ensuing chaos.”

“That’s about the size of it.”

Dave shook his head. “Why would Ralph D’Amico be so fucking stupid? I mean leaving Chris alive is strange enough, but having a mole in his organization and not twigging to who it is? That’s just fucked up.”

Mindy shrugged. “Hey I don’t psycho-analyze ‘em, I just hunt them down and kill ‘em.”

“Do you think we can trust the intel from those street dealers?”

“We don’t have too many other options do we? Of course breaking into the penthouse suite of Norberto Palermo won’t be as easy as waltzing into a low-life drug den.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“I love a challenge.”


	5. Breaking Down

Dave woke with a start. He had become a light sleeper in the past two years. The need for vigilance had become ingrained in him…it could mean the difference between freedom and imprisonment, or life and death.

He sensed the presence standing near him and turned towards it.

"Mindy?"

The figure didn't say anything for a minute then shifted forward slightly.

"I'm sorry. I…couldn't sleep."

The girl stood a few paces away, still in shadow. Her arms were wrapped around her body and she looked slightly awkward standing there, as if she had been undecided about whether she should stay or leave.

"What's wrong?" Dave asked with concern in his voice.

She shook her head. "You don't…you don't have to stay on the couch all the time you know."

Dave turned to sit up and look at her. "I think it might be for the best for now."

She looked away for a moment then turned back to him and lifted her hand. "Come to bed."

Dave stood up slowly and took her hand. As he walked towards her he looked into her eyes and saw that they were red-rimmed.

"Mindy, please tell me what's wrong."

She shrugged. "Just nightmares. I don't like being alone anymore."

She pulled herself into him and wrapped her arms around his body, taking a deep breath. "Please just come to bed."

Dave held onto her for a few more minutes then nodded. "Okay."

He followed her into the bedroom and crawled into the bed behind her. She had her back to him, but pushed herself into the concavity formed by his chest and slightly curled up legs until he was wrapped around her. He completed the circle by putting his arms around her. "You're shaking."

"Sometimes I remember."

"Remember what?"

"Remember what she's done those times that I've blacked out."

He didn't need to ask who she was talking about. He held her tighter and kissed her lightly on the neck. "It's okay Mindy. What did you see?"

Mindy heaved a heavy sigh and tried to control the shaking in her body. "I saw Damian. I saw what she…what I did to him."

"That asshole got what he deserved Mindy."

She didn't say anything for a moment then she whispered, "I hope you're right."

He didn't know when she finally fell asleep, but it was long before Dave was able to.

***

"I've been thinking about the penthouse break-in."

Dave looked at Mindy sitting at the counter eating breakfast as he walked into the kitchen. "So that's how we're doing this? You're having flashback nightmares and need me to be with you, but next morning you're all business and we're not even going to mention it?"

"Dave, please don't…"

"Don't what?" asked Dave with some heat. "Don't care? Don't try and help?"

"Don't pull me into a conversation I'm not ready to have yet."

"Yet?"

"Yeah…yet. I know we need to talk about it, but just…let me do it at my own pace, okay?"

Dave gritted his teeth, but finally he nodded. "Okay. So…penthouse?"

"Yeah I don't think flying in with a jet-pack and gattling gun would be expedient this time."

Dave was happy to note that she was smiling while she said it. At least she seemed able to shake off her nightmares pretty quickly. He went to pour himself a cup of coffee and then turned around, leaning against the counter. "So I'm guessing you have a plan?"

Mindy nodded. "Of course I do. I've been doing some research on our friend Don Palermo and based on the ways he likes to spend his nights it looks like using a number from the old days actually might be the ticket."

"Oh?" asked Dave with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, remember how we got into D'Amico's place last time? Apparently our new mobster friend's tastes run in that direction."

Dave compressed his lips. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"

Mindy's grin widened. "What do you think, dumbass?"

Dave sighed. "Okay, as much as I'd *really* love to see you in a schoolgirl outfit again now that you're a bit, uh, older I don't know how comfortable I am with you walking into the middle of a mobster den like that again. The last time you nearly didn't get out alive and this thing could go sideways in about fifteen different ways."

Mindy shook her head. "Do you have a better idea, Dave?"

Dave glared at her, grimacing, but he didn't have an answer to that. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his chest. "If I recall the last time I had an ace up my sleeve by the name of Kick-Ass and I just so happen to be holding the same card."

"And what if Norberto Palermo heard just how Frank D'Amico's place got infiltrated last time?"

Mindy smiled demurely. "C'mon that was 'helpless schoolgirl' and this one is high-priced themed call girl. Look at it this way: you get a preview of a *very* fun evening we can have on our own and we have an easy in to an otherwise tightly guarded fortress."

Dave sighed as he rubbed his hand across his eyes. "I'm not going to win this argument am I?"

Mindy didn't respond, but her smile gave him the only answer he needed.

"Right. So what am I doing while you're getting our mobster friend all hot and bothered?"

Mindy nodded. "It's pretty simple really."

***

"Fuck, I do not like this Mindy."

"For the last time just keep your panties on, okay? Everything's going to be fine. Now stop filling the comm line with chatter and man up, the show's about to start."

Dave sat back on the rooftop across from Norberto Palermo's penthouse unit and looked at Mindy again through the night vision binoculars as she walked towards the doorman at the main entrance. He had to admit that she looked fucking hot. She was actually wearing the same uniform she had worn to infiltrate D'Amico's penthouse and the intervening years simply meant that everything that ought to be showing to best advantage was. It really, really was.

"Fuck…" sighed Dave. The mere thought of some mobster scumbag even *looking* at her lustfully, let alone pawing at her with his grubby hands made his blood boil. Of course if anyone could handle that situation it was Mindy, but the warning voice at the back of his mind still wouldn't go away. "Fuck," he said again.

"Here we go," whispered Mindy's voice over the comm before she came up to the doorman and smiled. "Hi sweetie, I'm here to see Mr. Palermo."

The doorman gave her an obvious lookover, but otherwise didn't move. "You're not on the list."

She titled her head to the side coquettishly and giggled. "Silly, you didn't even check."

The doorman grimaced at her. "It's Wednesday, we don't do schoolgirl until Thursday…now run along and find some other client sweetheart."

"Shit…" muttered Dave.

Mindy waved her hand dismissively and he wasn't sure if it was meant more for him or the doorman. "Look, I know I'm not his regular girl, cutie, but I heard about him from some of the other girls and I'm *sure* he's going to want to see me."

When the doorman gave her a dubious look she arched her eyebrow and leaned in to whisper something in his ear. The man's eyes went wide and he gave Mindy a second look.

"Honest," she giggled as she raised her right hand.

"Hang on a sec," he said before moving to the entryway and picking up a phone. Dave waited on pins and needles, wondering what the hell Mindy had said to the man. Finally he came back and nodded.

"He wants a good look, smile for the camera."

The man pulled out a phone and aimed it at Mindy. She immediately struck a provocative pose, smiling at the camera as the man snapped several pictures. He hit send and then went back to the building phone. He seemed to be taking a long time and Mindy was just starting to get nervous that something was up when he returned. He had a wide grin on his face as he waved Mindy forward.

"Okay, he'll see you, but you better be everything he's expecting or you're going to end up having a very bad night."

"Oh sure," said Mindy, nodding quickly.

The doorman approached her and started patting her down very thoroughly. "Sorry, it's procedure."

"Oh I totally understand," replied Mindy with a giggle, suppressing her grimace as the man's fingers started roaming languorously across her body. She could almost hear Dave's teeth cracking over the comm as he gritted them.

Finally the man was satisfied, or at least assumed he had gotten away with as much as he could, and moved aside to let her in. "Penthouse."

Mindy sauntered past him, giving him a quick wink and making her way to the bank of elevators. When he had turned his back and she had gotten far enough away she whispered, "I'm taking the earpiece out now…I don't need Palermo or his men asking questions once they start taking a closer look at me. See you on the other side."

"Good luck," came Dave's voice just as she removed the earpiece and stowed it in her tiny purse.

As soon as she entered the elevator she looked up for the camera she knew would be there. When she saw it she gave it a wink before putting her hands behind her back and swaying to the muzak coming over the speaker.

Dave grinned from where he watched her on the laptop they had used to hack into the building's security. She certainly had a way about her. He couldn't believe he was going along with this plan. Of course, when was the last time he'd been able to say no to Mindy?

He watched her leave the elevator when it reached the top floor and then switched to a series of Palermo's internal cameras in split-screen mode. There were at least six other guys in the penthouse with their boss who was sitting back in a leather armchair smoking a cigar as he looked out at the view of the city lights. Dave wished there was sound.

He saw one of the men stand up and assumed Mindy had rung the bell. The man grinned at his boss before he went to the door. What the fuck had she said to the doorman that prompted a sicko mob boss to take her in off the street? Either he was desperate, stupid, or suspicious. He tried to push away the thought that this could go bad so quick it was making his head spin.

Dave spared one more glance for the computer screen as he saw Mindy walk into the unit only to be frisked, quite extravagantly, yet again. Fucking pervs. He picked up the modified high power rifle next to him and hefted it up, aiming just above the window of a darkened room of the penthouse. He fired the harpoon it contained and watched the cable attached to it unravel and then go taut as the projectile embedded itself in the masonry above the window. He checked the other end of the cable on the brace he had secured to his end and then turned back to the computer.

By this time Mindy had been presented to Don Palermo and he was obviously enjoying the view. The plan at this point was for Mindy to make excuses and get to the room he had shot the cable at to unlock and open the window for him. At that point he could zip-line across and get into the unit to help Mindy take down the guards and secure the boss for interrogation...easy peasy, right? Of course things started going south almost immediately.

Dave saw that the Don had grabbed her harshly by the arms and was shaking her as the men in the room pulled their guns. Fuck…time for Plan B.

***

The elevator dinged and Mindy heaved a deep sigh before stepping off. She didn't really have any concerns about this, but it had been a while since she'd gone undercover into an unknown and hostile location and she was feeling the absence of her mask acutely.

Mindy primped her hair as she walked out of the elevator and came to the door. She only had to wait a minute once she rang the bell before it was opened by an oily looking goon. He let her into the penthouse smiling hungrily as he let his hands 'pat her down' as slowly and completely as possible, giving special attention to her breasts and ass. She smiled and pretended to enjoy it as she catalogued all the ways she'd kill him, slowly, later.

When he was finally satisfied he led her to the main room. She had to admit it was well-apportioned and had a very impressive view of the city. Don Palermo stood up from the leather armchair he was sitting in as she entered.

"Well, well the pictures didn't do you justice. You are just the prettiest little thing!"

Mindy smiled and put her arms behind her back. She spared a quick glance out the window towards the building where she knew Dave was waiting.

Don Palermo walked up to her and gently ran his finger across her cheek. "Do a little twirl for us sweetheart. I want to see what I'm in for tonight."

Mindy obliged and the Don whistled as her skirt flared up revealing her pink lace panties. His goons laughed. The only thing that kept her from smashing all of their ugly faces in right now was the quickly expanding catalogue she was making of the ways she and Kick-Ass would soon fuck these guys up.

Palermo stepped closer and she could smell the cigars and gin on his breath. He placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. "Now who'd have thought I'd have such a great opportunity out of the blue? Here I am thinking I'm going to have a quiet evening of Parcheesi with the boys and in walks such a sweet little treat."

Mindy smiled and tilted her head.

His grin became wolfish as his hands slipped down her arms and held them against her body with an iron grip. "Yes indeed quite a special treat! Who'd have thought I'd get the chance to fuck with Hit-Girl in my own place?"

She started to struggle against him, but stopped when his men pulled out their guns and pointed them at her. "Now, now little bitch, none of that!"

She quickly ran through her options and decided fighting wasn't one of them given her current predicament. All she needed was a little time. She widened her eyes in mostly simulated fear. "What – what are you talking about? Hit-Girl?!"

"Fuck. You obviously think I'm stupid with the way you walked right in here, but do you really think I'm *that* stupid you cunt? Your cover was blown two years ago *Miss Macready*. Our connections are extensive inside *and* outside of the law. Did you think we didn't memorize your pretty little slag face in case you crawled back to New York one day?"

Mindy's teeth clenched and she glared at Palermo. "Do you think *I'm* that stupid Palermo? You lay a finger on me and you will be visiting ten different worlds of pain before I end your suffering."

Palermo looked to where his fingers gripped her arms like an iron vice. "Too late," he said with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

Mindy's eyes narrowed and she nodded. "Exactly."

Suddenly there was the sound of glass shattering from a back room and Palermo and his men turned to look. Two of them raced off to see what had happened and Mindy took the opportunity to smash her forehead into Palermo's face. His nose made a satisfying crunching sound that mingled with his garbled scream as he let go of her and covered his face with his hands. Mindy's head arced away from him followed by a trail of blood and as he dropped her she quickly turned and dove behind the nearest couch.

"Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Agghhh! Kill her!"

The remaining guards turned back to where their boss was huddled on the floor mopping at his face, then sprang after her.

"You're dead little girl!" screamed the mob boss. "Fill the fucking slit with holes!"

The guards shot the couch until their clips were empty and one of them was rewarded with a throwing knife to the jugular. Luckily their frisking had been more pleasure-oriented than effective. Unfortunately Mindy had only managed to hide one throwing knife in a very uncomfortable place. She needed some new options.

Mindy took the opportunity to sprint towards the dining area, diving behind the heavy table that she pushed over to act as a shield just as the two remaining guards loaded new clips and started shooting again. By this time Palermo had picked up the dead guard's gun and re-loaded it as well.

"Change of plans. Shoot the cunt to stop her, but don't kill her. She dies at my hands after I've gotten what I want from her!"

Mindy crouched behind the table as chunks of wood began flying around her. She had to do something and she had to do it now. Where the fuck was Kick-Ass? Their plan had gone to shit and without a viable weapon nearby she was going to be in serious trouble if something didn't turn their way fast.

A wave of frustration mixed with her growing sense of panic and something seemed to be scratching at the back of her mind. Suddenly it was as if she could hear a voice in the back of her head. I can deal with this. Let me in.

Mindy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was just hallucinations. Stress. Nothing else. The voice became clearer, more insistent. You need me. You know I can take care of this.

"But you're me," she whispered. "Just shut the fuck up!"

I am you, but I'm the you who knows how to deal with this.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" whispered Mindy. "*I* can do this."

Mindy pushed the voice and the frustration from her mind and kicked one of the table legs until it finally gave and snapped off. She hefted the piece of wood in her hand, admiring the sharp point she had luckily ended up with. Taking a deep breath she quickly peered at the room behind her from around the corner of the table. The gangsters immediately opened fire and she barely pulled back in time as wood shrapnel went flying everywhere.

Suddenly another shot was fired and she heard one of the thugs scream.

"Hit-Girl!" shouted a voice that filled her with relief. Steeling herself she popped up from behind the table and threw the wooden projectile at one of the gunmen. He staggered back in shock, looking at the wooden stake that was now embedded in his chest. His gun dropped to the floor and the others looked at him in horror.

"That's right bitches, Buffy's in the house!" screamed Mindy as she leapt from behind the table and took the opportunity their shock provided to break the leg of the lone remaining guard and take his gun from his now nerveless hand. She quickly shot him in the head and swung her pistol towards Don Palermo. She spared a glance for Kick-Ass where he was standing in the doorway to the back room, his gun trained on Don Palermo as well.

"Took your sweet ass time."

"Sorry, they were a little better at hand-to-hand than I was expecting."

"Your move bitch," she snarled as she returned her glare to Palermo.

Suddenly there was commotion from the back room and Kick-Ass turned to see four more guards storm into the room behind him.

"What the fuck?! Where the hell did they come from?!"

Kick-Ass was able to smash in the face of the first one with his gun, but the other three overpowered him before he could make another move.

Mindy swung her gun from Palermo to the new thugs and back again, wondering what to do. By this time they had knocked Kick-Ass' legs out from under him and one of them had a gun pointed to his head while the other two twisted his arms behind his back until he nearly screamed.

"Put it down cunt, or your pal gets a new hole!"

Don Palermo turned a smug look towards Mindy. "I knew you'd be a tough nut to crack so I made sure I was good and ready before I let you up here. I believe the move is now yours…bitch."

She felt frustration and panic start to course through her again. They had Dave. They were going to kill him. There were too many of them and they were too far away for her to get him out of this before something went horribly wrong. Suddenly everything else was engulfed by an overpowering rage. Mindy's vision clouded and she couldn't see through the red haze as her consciousness slipped away.


	6. At Cross Purposes

Dave tried to breathe. He tried not to panic as he felt the barrel of the gun pressed against his head and felt his arms nearly coming out of their sockets from where the other two men pulled on him. He saw Mindy swing her gun back and forth between his captors and Palermo. This was it. There was no way she could save him. He was going to have to try and make sure she was able to get out of this alive, he'd make them pay dearly for his life and get her out of this even though it would be the last thing he ever did.

He was just about to heave himself backwards against the horrible strain on his arms when he saw Mindy's face change and suddenly she was a blur of action.

She rolled forward, knocking Palermo down in a heap and then grabbed him by the throat, lifting him back up as she stood once more, her body shielded by his. Her gun was placed against his temple and she screamed at the men holding Dave. "Let him go and your boss doesn't get a hole of his own!"

"Don't listen to her…!" screamed Palermo before his voice was cut off by Mindy's tightened grip around his throat.

"If you think you're going to live after shooting him then you're fucking delusional," she hissed at the men holding Dave who were looking uncertainly between their boss and his captor. "I will kill you all the minute his body hits the floor and I will make certain it is a very, very slow death. You've heard the stories about me haven't you?"

She waited, watching as they looked at one another.

"They're true. I may be 'just a little girl', but I've been doing this since I was five years old. What do you think that does to a person? Do you think I'm 'normal'? Do you think these threats are going to stop me from doing what I have to? Do you think any of this bullshit is going to give you any chance at all?"

She let them chew on that for a minute or two.

"Remember Frank D'Amico? I'm sure you all had cannoli in his penthouse 'fortress' back in the day. You know the one that couldn't be breached? Well, it couldn't keep me out. I killed every one of his fucking 'elite' guards when I was *eleven*. Do you even think you are going to be able to get out of this room alive unless I allow it? Do you?!"

When she screamed her last question the two men holding Dave's arms let go and took a step back. Palermo started thrashing in her grip and the thug holding the gun looked between Palermo, Hit-Girl and his compatriots.

"What are you going to do?" she purred as her eyes narrowed, concentrating only on the man with the gun.

"Are you going to live, or are you going to die?"

She squeezed a little harder on Palermo's throat and he nearly passed out. The man with the gun took it from Dave's head and stepped back. He lifted the gun placatingly as he opened his fingers, his other hand stretched out in a motion of surrender.

Before anyone could even think what would happen next Mindy dropped Palermo to the floor and shot the gunman in the forehead. Then she shot the other two men in the kneecaps and sprinted forward. She grabbed the first one by the throat and smashed his face with her pistol. She moved over to the other one and placed her foot on his wounded knee, grinding down on it slowly and evenly while he screamed in agony. Her eyes were blazing as she leaned down towards him. "Your friend with the gun had it easy. You two are going to suffer!"

The man whimpered in pain, tears streaming down his face. "You said you'd let us live! You said it wouldn't be slow if we listened!"

Mindy gritted her teeth. "I lied!"

With that she smashed him in the face, knocking him out.

She spared a quick glance for Palermo and saw that he was still writhing on the floor, trying to catch his breath and then her face changed completely as she dove to the ground and crawled over to where Dave lay on the floor cradling his sore arms.

She put her hands around his face and pulled him towards her. "Dave! Are you ok? Oh shit Dave, I thought…" She closed her eyes, then opened them to stare deeply into his. "I wasn't going to let them kill you!"

"Mindy…?" he asked.

A look of pain passed over her features and she screwed up her eyes. "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy! Shut up about Mindy! Don't you love me too Dave?"

He looked at her, worry and fear warring with something else on his features. He looked into eyes that would never shed a tear, but he saw pain there, even as they hardened under his gaze.

"I thought *you* understood me. I thought you accepted me! Was it all a lie?"

She closed her eyes again then she whispered, "I love you too, you know."

He raised a hand tentatively to her face. "Hit-Girl? I…"

She leaned in and kissed him, passion and fear, anger and desire all expressing themselves equally. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth and she moaned as the kiss deepened and she could feel Dave start to return it. Finally she broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. "I love you too," she whispered once again before turning away and standing up.

Dave was at a loss for words, looking at her back and wondering what he could do or say.

Hit-Girl didn't wait for a response. She walked over to Palermo and reached down to grab him by the hair.

"Alright shit-stain," she growled. "If you're through with the fucking floor show now it's time to talk."

***

Palermo was tied up to a chair, red marks standing out visibly on his throat from where Hit-Girl had been gripping him. He glowered at the two heroes as they stood over him, but the menace he tried to convey wasn't very convincing.

Finally Dave sighed and leaned towards the mobster. "Word is you've got information on an old friend of ours. We want details."

Palermo glowered at him. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about green bean."

Mindy raised the gun she was holding and shot him in the kneecap. Palermo screamed, writhing against his restraints. Soon his struggling ceased and he started to wheeze slightly as the blood ran down his leg.

"Wrong answer," she growled. "Want to try again?"

"You fuckers think you're going to intimidate me?! I wrote the book on intimidation! You're just going to kill me anyway, why the fuck would I tell you anything?!"

Hit-Girl strolled over to Palermo and grabbed his chin, pulling his face up to look at her. "You're right. I am going to kill you tonight. That isn't the question. The question is," here she raised her eyebrows as she looked into his eyes, "will the time up to that point be slow and very, very painful or will you get a quick end?" She narrowed her eyes until they were mere slits. "I am *very* motivated to fuck you up in every way humanly possible. Trust me when I say my knowledge in that area is extensive."

She let go of his chin with some force, pushing his face away from her. "Your call, Don Palermo."

Palermo had started sweating and was obviously giving her words their due attention even though he tried to keep the scowl on his face through the pain he was obviously feeling in his knee.

Hit-Girl grabbed the back of the chair and started dragging it over to the dining room table where she had previously laid out various kitchen knives and utensils. "Okay, let's get started then."

Dave's face started to go pale.

The Don struggled against his restraints, screaming as his injured leg flared with pain. "Wait! Shit, what do you want to know anyway?!"

Mindy heaved his chair upright, jarring his leg again. "You know what we want scum-fuck, stop stalling. We know that Chris D'Amico is alive. We know that his uncle is keeping him holed up somewhere. We know that Chris is making waves in the hopes of taking over the business again and that he must be getting help from inside. We know that you are one of the ones helping him. We know pretty much everything really. We only need to know one thing and I'll fucking spell it out nice and slow so you can understand: Where. The. Fuck. Is. He?!"

"That goddam fucking shit-stain of a psycho kid! I knew he was gonna get me killed, but I thought it would be by his fucking uncle!"

Hit-Girl shrugged. "Hind sight's always 20/20, eh? What a bitch. You got greedy, thought you could play the psychopath against the boss and now you're paying for it. Believe me, I'm crying on the inside."

Palermo grimaced as he glared at her. "Well, you fuck that kid up good you hear me?! Do me quick, but you let it be nice and fucking slow for that goddam cum-stain, you got it?!"

Hit-Girl shook her head. "I don't make promises or deals with mobster scum fuck-holes, but I think you can rest assured that in this one case our priorities are very much aligned. Now spill it douchebag."

***

Dave watched as Hit-Girl slit the mobster's throat. His gurgle as the blood spilled over his shirt front soon faded and his body slumped down into the chair.

She watched the body for a few more moments then turned towards Dave.

He grimaced. "That was…graphic."

She shrugged. "Are you really going to start getting squeamish now? What did you think we were going to do, give him some flowers and a thank-you card and walk away?"

Dave sighed. "No, I just wish you didn't seem to relish it so much."

Hit-Girl glared at him. "I am what I am Kick-Ass, take it or leave it. And at least we didn't have to torture him. Much."

***

Dave looked nervously at Hit-Girl as he watched her stalk into the safe house ahead of him, wondering what he should say. She immediately started to unbutton the tight shirt of her schoolgirl disguise, dropping it behind her on the floor as she reached back for the zipper on her kilt.

"Um…I'll give you some privacy," said Dave as he started walking towards the kitchen.

"Suit yourself," said Hit-Girl with a roll of her eyes, "but you've already seen me naked so it's not like I'm violating any conventions here. Shit, I'm not going to jump you if that's what you're worried about. You've made it pretty clear you're not interested in *me* so I won't force myself on you."

Dave stopped walking and dropped his head. "Hit-Girl? Do you want to talk?"

She turned to look at him with a piercing stare. "Do you?"

"Of course I…"

"Because from what I see you only want to talk to little Mindy. *I'm* the one you met first you know. *I'm* the one who worked with you. Mindy's the one who ran. She's the one who hooked up with that fucking douchebag and got herself into trouble. *She's* the one who was always confused about us…but I always knew we were meant for each other."

"I…I don't know what to say."

Hit-Girl let out a guffaw. "I guess it'll be a short conversation then, huh?"

"I just…fuck Hit-Girl, what the fuck do you expect here? You can see how this is…troubling, right? This shouldn't *be* a choice that I have to make…a choice that you, shit *either* of you, have to make! This isn't…"

"Normal?" she shot with an arched brow and wry grin. "Yeah…'cause I've always been all about 'normal'."

Dave just looked at her, at a total loss for words.

Hit-Girl shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm not usually much of a talker anyway. Listen," she added with a sly grin, "you and I have always communicated better without words. In fact, we have a whole new way to have the best conversation ever."

With that she finished unzipping her skirt, letting it drop to the floor so she was wearing nothing but her pink bra and panties.

"If you're not up for that it's fine…but I can tell you that Mindy likes it too."

Dave groaned. "Please Hit-Girl just…"

Anger flared on her face. "Fine! I guess you've made your fucking choice already haven't you? I just have one question for you. Which of us do you *really* think was the mask? Little Princess Mindy, the veneer she adopted when that cop forced us to go to school and act 'normal', or Hit-Girl, the person I've been since I was fucking five years old? I think if you put a teensy bit of thought into it you'll realize what the answer is."

"Fuck I…"

"Shut up or put up Lizewski. I'll be in the bedroom if you need…anything. I imagine little princess will be back in the morning otherwise."

***

*BANGBANGBANG*

*BANGBANGBANG*

"Hang on, I'm coming!" yelled Marcus as he sprinted down the stairs. "Keep your shirt on! It's only seven in the morning you know!"

He threw open the door and was a little taken aback to see Dave standing there, a look of concern etched on his features.

"Dave? What's wrong? Did you…"

Dave pushed his way into the house, waiting until he was inside to turn around and face the older man.

"C'mon in…" said Marcus with chagrin as he watched Dave storm past him.

"It's Mindy, she needs…" began Dave.

Marcus sighed and raised his hands. "Alright Dave just give it a rest okay? I told you that you shouldn't get your hopes up about that copy-cat being…"

"It's not a copy-cat!" Dave practically screamed in frustration. "It's fucking Mindy, okay? She's been living in the safe house with me for the past few weeks."

Marcus just stood looking at the boy for a moment before he was able to reply.

"Mindy? Has been living with you? For a few weeks?! When the hell were you…?!"

"Look, it was her place to tell you when she felt she was ready, okay? I told her she needed to talk to you, but shit…that doesn't matter now anyway."

"Doesn't matter?" growled Marcus taking a step towards Dave. "Doesn't matter?! Who the fuck do you think you are Lizewski to say that my step-daughter…"

"Will you shut the fuck up and listen, Marcus?!"

That got the detective to stop. Dave was usually nothing if not polite. It would take a lot to get him to talk that way to Marcus. He stepped back and nodded. "Okay, so what's wrong?"

Dave ran his fingers through his hair, obviously trying to gather his thoughts and calm himself down. "Fuck I…I don't know. Not really. She's had…fuck, Mindy's had a rough couple of years okay?"

Marcus nodded again.

"I can't go into details, or at least I don't want to…not unless I have to, but she's been through a lot and it's affected her."

"Alright…" prompted Marcus.

"Mentally," sighed Dave, looking deflated as he said it.

"I really need you to be a little more precise, son. What does that mean?"

"It means she's having problems telling the difference between Mindy and Hit-Girl."

Marcus' mouth creased into a frown and he gestured towards the couch.

"I was afraid of something like this from the day Damian pulled this shit on that poor little girl. Sit down. Tell me everything."

***

Mindy heard the safe house door open and grinned. "Where the fuck have you been Dave? We were supposed to start sparring…"

She stopped as she turned around and saw Marcus walk into the safe house followed by a shamefaced Dave.

"What. The. Fuck?!"

"Nice to see you too, sweetheart." replied Marcus.

Mindy glanced away from Marcus to where Dave stood in the background. "What the fuck is this Lizewski? I thought we agreed that I'd go see Marcus in *my own* time. And what's the deal with bringing him to the goddam safe house?!"

Dave shrugged. "I'm sorry Min, but I didn't think you'd agree to meet him somewhere more, uh, neutral…"

"Fucking right I wouldn't have!" she bristled.

"…And I really think we need his help." ended Dave rather lamely.

She narrowed her eyes at Dave, a look of pure murder there. "What did you tell him?"

"Mindy, you need help! Help I don't know how to give you…not by myself."

"And he does?!" she spat.

"I dunno Mindy, but I know he loves you so…"

"Get the fuck out of my sight!"

Dave blanched at her words and tone. "Mindy c'mon I only want to…"

"Get out!" she screamed.

Marcus turned a consoling look to the boy. "Give us a few minutes, okay Dave?"

Dave glanced sadly at Mindy before looking back at Marcus and nodding. "Yeah. Yeah sure, whatever."

Marcus waited until the door closed behind Dave before he turned back to Mindy.

"That boy really cares about you you know? I don't think you're being very fair to him."

"Fair?!" she asked with a grim laugh. "What the fuck does fair have to do with it? When was *fair* ever something I could count on?"

"Alright," said Marcus with a conciliating gesture. "I'm still only here to be your friend, to help you. You don't need to act like I'm your enemy."

"Don't I?" she asked with venom.

"Mindy, you know I'd *never* do anything to hurt you."

"What I know is that your idea of *help* is different from mine."

"Mindy this whole superhero thing has officially gone too far. Surely even you can see that now?"

"That fucker!" she screamed. "He had no right to tell you *anything* about me!"

"He's scared Mindy, and quite frankly from what I'm seeing so am I."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared that you don't know who you are anymore. Scared that you can't control yourself."

Mindy glared at him. "That's always been what you've been afraid of in a nutshell isn't it? Just who is poor little Mindy and how do I keep her under control? Well you know what? I know *exactly* who I am and I always have. As to control? No one tells Hit-Girl what to do but Hit-Girl!"

"What about Mindy?"

"They're the same!"

"No Mindy, they're not. Hit-Girl is something you put on. It's a role that lets you wade into danger without fear. It's a mask that you think protects you, but now…now it looks like it wants control."

Mindy huffed. "Mindy's weak. Hit-Girl's strong. It's as simple as that."

"What happens when Hit-Girl wants something that Mindy doesn't?"

A look of worry ghosted across Mindy's features, but she shut it down immediately. "She doesn't …I mean I don't…I mean, fuck stop trying to twist my words."

"I'm not twisting them I'm showing you what they mean. You said it yourself: Mindy's weak and Hit-Girl's strong. If they're the same then why do you even see a difference?"

Mindy crossed her arms over her chest. "Mindy drives the bus, okay? Hit-Girl is just the persona I put on when I need to be focused on the task at hand. It's still all me."

"Then why don't you remember what you said to Dave the other night? Why are blocks of time apparently disappearing from your memory? Do you even remember what happened *last* night? Dave said that you…that Hit-Girl…fuck, I don't even know how to say it."

"Look sometimes things can get confused in the heat of the moment, okay? It's just stress…give me a fucking break, alright?"

"Mindy, please just let me help…"

"Oh, right! Sure you'll help me…all the way to the insane asylum! You think I'm going to let you put me in a fucking straight jacket and lock me away?! Fuck that! You think I don't know that you think I'm nuts? You *never* understood me and daddy. You never understood the mission. *Never*!"

Marcus was obviously at a loss, but before he could say anything Dave, who had quietly come back inside, appeared behind him again. "I did. I still do, but I'm scared too Mindy. Something's going on and we need to figure it out."

Mindy looked at him pleadingly. "How could you do this to me Dave? *You*? Don't you *trust* me?"

"With my life," he answered simply, "but that doesn't mean I just agree with everything you say or do you know."

Mindy turned on her heel so that her back was to them. She hugged her arms around herself tightly. "Dave, I am so fucking furious right now! Shit, I never thought you'd ambush me like this! I think you need to leave."

Dave walked up to her, extending a hand slowly until it rested on her shoulder. "Mindy, please just let me help."

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, ripping her shoulder away and flinging out her arm. "I mean it, Dave," she said, giving him a feral look. "Don't. Come. Near. Me."

"Mindy please…" he said continuing to walk towards her.

She pushed him away hard with both hands. "Are you going deaf Lizewski?!"

She kept walking towards him, pushing him again and again with each word she said as she moved towards the door. "I. Said. Get. Out!"

Dave finally stopped, refusing to budge at her last push. Mindy narrowed her eyes and let out a growl. Before anyone knew what was happening she smashed his face with her fist. "Get the fuck away!"

Dave stepped back awkwardly, obviously dazed by the blow. Mindy followed with two more punches, one after the other, causing Dave's head to swing back and forth. "C'mon fucker, defend yourself!" she growled. A kick to his chest followed the punches and Dave fell to the ground.

Mindy jumped onto him and grabbed him by the shirt. She proceeded to lift him up and down, smashing his head back onto the floor. "Think you're going to cart Hit-Girl off, do you?! Think I'm going to just sit here and let you treat me like a fucking psycho?!"

"Mindy!" shouted Marcus, running up to the two figures on the floor and trying to pull her off of Dave. Hit-Girl just elbowed him in the face and he reeled back in shock and pain. She proceeded to punch Dave again and again in the face. "I'll show you what happens when you betray Hit-Girl! I'll show you what happens to fuckers who think they can gain my trust and fuck with me just like…just like that little…"

"Mindy!" Marcus shouted.

Suddenly she stopped and looked down at the bloody mess she'd made of the face beneath her. "Dave…?" she said in a tiny voice. "Dave? Oh my fucking god, what happ…?"

She sprang backwards off of him as if she had been electrocuted. "Dave?! Oh fuck! Dave!"

She covered her face with her hands and started shaking. "What the fuck is happening to me?"

Marcus just stood watching in shock at what he'd seen. Mindy crawled back towards Dave and reached her hand towards his face. "Oh god, Dave I'm so sorry! Oh fuck!" She caressed his face where bruises were already starting to form and tried to wipe away some of the blood. "Dave, talk to me, please!"

Dave's eyes slitted open, though one remained mostly closed due to a burgeoning black eye. "Don't worry about it Min, I'm pretty tough." He tried to smile then winced.

"Why didn't you stop me? Why didn't you defend yourself?!"

"You had to see Mindy. You had to see what we're afraid of."


End file.
